Search form

You are here

Commentary

We are entering the wedding stage of life – better put, re-entering. Since our own wedding we’ve been on sabbatical, during which time we experienced all other stages – from the baby shower to the kindergarten and high school graduation stages and everything in between. Now, the cycle has come full circle and I do believe we’re back to weddings.

Pop-wop-wop-wop! Pop-wop-wop-wop! The steady, rhythmic rumbling of the classic machine rang through the morning air as I walked across the Day County Fairgrounds. The signature sound was coming from an old Deere as it stood, idling, waiting to do what it was created to do – work. The engine piston would fire and pop, then the flywheel would wop as it carried the motor through to the next rotation of the piston firing.

At one point in the middle of “moving day” at the Topic (Wednesday, June 29) I counted 13 men and three Bobcat loaders at work. It was indeed a team effort. I was glad seven of them were volunteers. Allan Burke and his “Iron Men” came from Linton, Braddock, Burlington and Bismarck, ND that day to acquire a Kluge press, which Jim used for printing small jobs until about three years ago, and a Linotype, which was in perfect working order when Jim Byington retired it and himself in 1980.

By Richard P. Holm MD
In 1974 in Ethiopia’s Awash Valley, a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton of an ape was discovered that was different from other ape skeletons. The knee bone shape, along with pelvic architecture, indicated that this ape walked upright. As the Beatles music “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was playing in the background, archeologists speculated that this could be the long sought link between apes and humans, and the upright walking individual was famously nicknamed “Lucy.” Her brain was small and apelike but she walked upright.

By Jill Pertler
I’ve been moving slowly during the last few days. My steps are labored, my movements deliberate. My muscles ache in places I never knew muscles existed. I am bruised. I am sore. I am on vacation. Lots of people think vacations are supposed to be relaxing. Actually, the term “relaxing vacation” is often an oxymoron because when you are shelling out big bucks at a resort or amusement park to make sure you and your family have a good time, you want to get your money’s worth. So what do you do? You overdo. You work muscles not in use since you tried out for the gymnastics team back in eighth grade. And then, your body pays for your indulgence and you ache. For me, this journey started on a Jet Ski.

Every year, thousands of visitors come to Pierre to enjoy all that our Capital City has to offer. Every South Dakotan can be proud of the State Capitol Building, which has been beautifully restored and maintained. The Capitol grounds are also impressive, especially in the summer, with the Fighting Stallions Memorial and the veterans’ memorials along Capitol Lake. The Cultural Heritage Center provides an opportunity to learn about the history of our state. South Dakotans may not be aware of a new attraction that is being added to our Capital City – the Trail of Governors. This project combines art and history, and is placing life-sized bronze statues of every former South Dakota governor in Pierre, on a trail connecting the downtown business district with the Capitol grounds.

Most of us really should stop more often to say thanks to those responsible for things we appreciate. For example, at the top of my list are our local EMTs, including the three young men who recently passed all their tests to become certified emergency medical technicians: Robert Martian, Steven Karbowski, and Kyle Nilson. They are now on the ambulance service roster. Hurrah! Five others who took the class last winter and spring have passed the practical exam and are studying for the written test.

I remember the day we bought her first car. It was promoted as being the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. that year and came complete with a flashy red body and a yellow roof. We brought it home and it sat on the driveway pristinely clean, with that new car smell and all. It was a cute little coupe, with room for just two – passenger and driver. In a word, cozy. There wasn’t any horsepower to speak of. More like foot power, Flintstone-style. She could barely see over the steering wheel and her feet could just reach the ground to push the little plastic car along the driveway.

In the medical profession we often have to face suicide casualties. The victim and the family generally come to the emergency room, one by ambulance, and the others to the waiting room. There, one of us ends up talking with the family, people wrought with terrible anguish and guilt, even though the family may have done all they could to prevent it. In situations like these I find myself overwhelmed with feelings of tragedy and sadness, and often angry at the suicide victim for causing such grief for the ones who really loved him or her. I have two examples.

Late into the evening on July 22, 2015, a young woman arrived in the Emergency Room of the Indian Health Service hospital in Rosebud. She was having contractions – each about two and a half minutes apart. The baby was coming. Still, nursing staff allowed the young woman to leave and use the rest room. Minutes later, her boyfriend started yelling from the bathroom. He needed a doctor. The baby had been born on the floor. The infant was not initially breathing. His color was “dusky.” Once a nurse entered the bathroom, the baby was scooped up and run into a nearby room where they were able to start his breathing. It’s a horrifying story, as told in a recent government review of the hospital. What’s more – it’s happened before.